Dubai as I see it

Source: http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2005/07/sinister_paradise.html

Dubai fascinates me. The entire city seems to be in a constant state of development. Developing newer, bigger and more iconic skyscrapers, office buildings, apartments, condominiums and malls. I even learnt a new term, Pentaminiums, meaning penthouse condominiums. Everywhere I travel along the highways, I see many buildings in different state of development and construction, seemingly trying to surpass one another with awe-inspiring or jaw-dropping intents.

Piling works ongoing in empty plots of land. Long cranes sitting high atop already tall, half-finished skyscrapers. A fully developed apartment tower is sandwiched in between another two partially constructed buildings. Every few kilometres, one can see billboards and posters advertising newer development areas and projects.

In time to come, the well-known Burj Al Arab will be surpassed by yet another monument skyscraper, the Burj Dubai. Looking at this latest project, the words that come to mind are sleek, majestic, modern, cool, cold.

The skyscrapers and buildings do make for a pretty sight. Sunlight reflecting off the shiny windows of ceiling to floor glass buildings, glittering and sparkling like blue sapphires. Images of the sky and fluffy clouds can be seen mirrored on these shiny glass facades. At night, the long cranes are all lighted up, and the skyline of the entire city twinkles every other second, warning helicopters and airplanes of the sheer height of all the skyscrapers in this concrete jungle desert city.

At times, they all seem so surreal and unreal. As much as I am a city girl, I just cannot imagine myself to be living in this city. Maybe I am not the sophisticated city mouse that I thought I am. Or perhaps, this is really the grandeur an oil-rich country can buy for itself.

And becos they are so rich, I imagine that it would be beneath most Arabs to think about working in the service industry. In the hotels, the malls and the retail shops, the staffs are Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos or Africans. Carrefour has an entire section dedicated to selling common items and condiments for Indian and Philippines cuisines. Timeout Dubai list many Indian restaurants around the city, ranging from the affordable and value-for-money to the haute cuisine.

Still, I’m grateful for the chance to see and experience Dubai, even though I’m holed up in the hotel more often than not. I chalk it up to an education and eye-opening experience.

Right now, I can’t wait to go to the spice souk and/or perhaps the gold souk. Instead of being greeted by service staff with a foreign accent, I hope to glean into the Arab of old. One where perhaps, an old and weathered man, sitting amidst all his products, hawks his goods.

The unexpected trip

We’re in Dubai! I only had gotten wind of Louis’ trip last Thursday. Originally, we were supposed to fly on Saturday but as one of his colleagues needed some time to process his visa, the flight date was changed to Tuesday. On Monday afternoon at 2-ish pm, Louis called to ask if it was possible for me to finishing packing and be ready to fly on the 10 pm flight that night. It required some frantic packing but not impossible. And fly we did!

This being Faith’s first flight – and a 7-hour one at that – I was concerned if she would be able to take to the long flight. Thankfully, she did well and was a great baby on board the flight. Due to a delay in take-off, Faith was asleep by the time the plane finally took off. I was initially concerned if she would experience ear pressure on the ascent but was grateful that she pretty much slept throughout the flight.

Taking the night flight around her bedtime was great, cos it allowed her to sleep onboard. However, due to the 4-hour time difference, it was 1.30 am local time when we arrived in Dubai. By the time we cleared customs, travelled to the hotel and checked into our rooms, we had a slightly cranky baby who only had about 5 hours of sleep instead of her usual 11-12 hours.

As Louis was expected to be busy with his work, I’m pretty much left with Faith for most of the day – Louis only slept 2+ hrs after we checked into the room before he went off to work.

My first day in Dubai with Faith was rather uneventful as we stayed in the hotel as I wanted to adjust her to the time difference. Becos she didn’t had enough sleep and her feeding and napping times are now a little different, she was rather cranky at various times throughout the day. Our usually cheerful baby cried a lot more with strangers and even when I left her in the playpen or stroller while I prepared her food, took a shower or even ate my meals. Nevertheless, I brought her out to the hotel pool for a little sun and water, so she cheered up a little.

Of course, Louis, being the ever doting dad, was a little heartbroken to hear about his little one’s day when he returned home after work. That night, he carried her around and played with her until she slept cos he said “I don’t want her to cry anymore”:)

I’m sure Faith is going to turn out to be the regular daddy’s girl and Louis, being the soft hearted person that he is, would be wrapped tightly around his little girl’s finger and enjoy the fact. While it may seem like he’s spoiling her already, a part of me can’t help but being pleased that Faith is a daddy’s girl. After all, I think it’s a rightful place for every little girl to be and I know that ultimately, Louis wouldn’t spoil her rotten.

The hotel that we are staying boasted of having panoramic views of the city. We could see Burj Al Arab, the icon hotel resembling a billowing sail, and one of the Palm Islands from the first room that we checked into. From my current room, all I see are lots of nameless buildings, ongoing developments and the highways. I didn’t know before this, but traffic jams in Dubai seem bad. Starting from as early as 5 pm, I could see long lines of cars stuck along the highway.

Today, Faith and I met up with Hind, our Moroccan neighbour in France, who’s staying in Dubai as her husband, Salah, works here. However, Faith was still a little out of sorts and she cried when Hind tried to hug her. We headed out to the Mall of the Emirates but before we could get any serious shopping done, Ines (Hind’s daughter) called to say she was sick. I shooed Hind to head home while I loiter in the mall and went Carrefour to buy some vegetables for Faith’s meals.

Believe it or not, I ended up buying a pack of Pamper diapers becos they came in short packs, slightly different size and I think it’s a packaging that I don’t see in Singapore. Hahaha… wonder what Louis would say when he returns home. And yes, we did manage to see Ski Dubai, the indoor ski resort in the midst of this desert city.

Faith fell asleep halfway on my shoulder on the taxi ride back to the hotel. As I’m typing my post, Faith has been sleeping for the last 4 hours and its past her dinnertime. But I think I would let her sleep for as long as she wants. Poor baby. I think she’s tired and is still on Singapore time.

Faith's thoughts

Dear Grand-aunt Catherine,

Lookie! I've finally grown big enough to wear this lovely red onesie that you have sent. Grandma said its a lovely piece, although she has yet to see me wear it. Dad and mom think I look adorable in it too :) How do you think I look?

My paternal grandparents are on a cruise this weekend. So, I'm left to "terrorise" mom and dad the whole of Saturday until my Ye-ye (paternal grandfather) and Nai-nai (paternal grandmother) return on Sunday afternoon. Kekeke... Mom and dad shepherded me for a dim-sum lunch, together with Uncle Terence.

It was a little cold in the restaurant and dad's decided to pull on the hood of my sweater to keep my head and ears warm. He's always worried that I would catch a chill. I think I look kinda cool in this pink sweater. Ohhh... and the pink silk elephant is a present from Aunty Nell, Uncle Richard and Nicole Jie-jie. They just returned from a trip to Chang Mai.

Speaking of trips, I'm certainly looking forward to my trip to Langkawi in mid December with mom and dad. Oohhh.... more alone time with them. Yippee!!

Hope to see you soon in Singapore or if we are lucky enough, in UK ;)

Muak!

Grandniece, Faith

Happy Anniversary & Happy 8th Month

Its our 4th Wedding Anniversary today! And Faith's turned 8 months old too. With a baby in tow, it is hard to have any romantic dinner. Still, its nice to know that we have reached the 4-year mark this time around with something very very tangible. A beloved baby girl that we both love to bits :)

Work has been a tad busy for Louis this week, so it was hard for us to plan dinner out even though we were game to bring Faith along. However, he surprised me by coming home after work with a bouquet of red roses and my favourite, blue hydrangeas. Ahhhh.... he knows that I love hydrangeas and its a meaningful flower for me becos my hand bouquet on our wedding day was a bunch of blue hydrangeas.

Louis and I have always been openly affectionate with our feelings. Certainly, having a baby has diminished the number of lovey-dovey hugs and cuddles that we give each other -- we individually kiss, hug and cuddle Faith more now ;) Nonetheless, we try as hard as we can remember, amidst the demands on new parents, to show our love and affections for each other. In part, we feel that the open affections we have for each other is not only beneficial to our own relationship. As Faith grows, we hope she would observe and learn to give hugs, kisses and cuddles to family and close friends.

As for Faith, she's blossoming into a mischievous and curious baby at 8 months. She sits and crawls a little better, but still, she's not as steady. She tends to flop on her face or tummy at times, mostly when she's stretching to take or grab at things further away from her reach. Recently, she's started to pull herself up on her knees and occasionally to a standing position while in her cot.

And while I'm not certain if I will live to regret the decision, every morning, I've allow her to pull herself up while cushioned against the pillows on my bed to reach for items that I've put on our bed headboard. Her perennial favourite is to grab for the usually off-limit "toys" like my cellphone, the handy bottle of vapour Vicks or whatever knick-knacks that she set her sights upon.

Louis and I are grateful that she remains a smiley baby with a happy disposition. Our only wish is that she would continue to bestow her contagious smiles to everyone even as she grows. For it is what sets her apart from most babies -- her ability to break the ice and melt the hearts of most people that she meet with a somewhat gummy smile.

Happy Anniversary, darling and Happy 8th Month, Faith. We are indeed blessed in our lives.

New toy

Our wedding anniversary and Christmas came early this year. At least, the gift-giving part of it came early for me. I've got another brand new, spanking, shiny kitchen gadget from Louis. Its a KitchenAid Food Processor. Yippee!

Unfortunately, kitchen counter top space, like the real estate market in Singapore, is scarce. Hence, said gadget has to be relegated to a cupboard, which I had specifically cleared to make space for :)

Still, I'm rather excited by my new toy. So, am now wondering what should I make to maximise the use of the food processor. A rosti, hummus, cake, soup or all of the above? Hmmm... time to peruse through the cookbooks again for recipes and ideas.

RED! Ouch!

Faith is down again with bacterial infection. Sigh... this is the 4th time that she's sick and the doctor had to prescribe antibiotics yet another time. I hate when she has to take antibiotics. She tends to poop more as a side effect and when we do not notice and change her diapers quick enough, diaper rash occurs.

It happened the last time she took her antibiotics and it happened again last night. And we had been rather careful over the past few days. But seeing that nothing had happened, I had thought she cleared the "hurdle". Unfortunately, I only googled and found out after the event that the loose stools as a result of the medication would irritate the diaper area and if we do not change her frequently, rashes would occur.

Poor Faith's bum was all red cos we forgot to check and change her diapers in the evening. She was crying in pain even when we splashed cold water over the area. My poor poor baby. Bad bad mummy!

Faith - laughs and chuckles

For Faith's sake, I wanted to document the times when she gets so amused that she chuckles and laugh - beyond the smiles that she gives. Faith, I'd try to be specific as possible, but sometimes daddy doesn't really know what you found funny..so here goes, okay.

1. Tickle-tickle (hands): When we wipe her down before her bedtime, Eve and I almost invariably play a game of "tickle-tickle" with Faith. Essentially, we just tickle her palms with the wet cloth and oftentimes she starts chuckling even in anticipation of what we are going to do.

2. Tickling her rib-cage area: Noticed that Eve does this well and she manages to find the "ticklish" spot to blow onto. When Eve picks her up and presses her mouth close to Faith's rib-cage and starts blowing, Faith will invariably chuckle.

3. Grandparents' actions: Whether it is MIL or Mum and dad, they now have their own ways to amuse their dear granddaughter. On occasions, these causes Faith to chuckle and laugh. Sometimes on weekdays when I am home, I hear MIL and Faith laugh so much that they seem like they are having a little laughing secret between themselves.

4. Funny dance: Sometimes, Faith laughs when I do a "running-man" dance in front of her. Proves more effective when accompanied with sudden movements e.g. jerking of shoulder.

5. Lifting: This one works almost all the time. When Eve stands up and lifts Faith up and lets her "kick-off" her stomach/chest area. Think Faith likes the feeling of being "in the air."

6. Unexplainables: Sometimes, for no apparent reason, or at least for no consistent reason that we find particularly funny, Faith will laugh. For example, there are occasions when we make funny faces or clucking sounds and Faith will really chuckle. Does not consistently elicit laughter from her though, though these actions almost always make her smile.